Drinking a can of bottle of sugared soda water daily can dramatically heighten a person’s risk of developing pre-diabetes, a “warning sign” condition that precedes full-blown type 2 diabetes, a new study reports.

A person who drinks a daily can of sugar-sweetened beverage has a 46% increased risk of developing pre-diabetes, said senior researcher Nicola McKeown, a scientist with the Jean Mayer USDA Human Nutrition Research Center on Aging at Tufts University in Boston.

But, a can of diet soda every day does not boost pre-diabetes risk, the researchers found.

The results show how regular sugar intake can batter a person’s body on a cellular level, Dr. McKeown said.

Cells require the hormone insulin to break down sugar into energy, she said. But too much sugar in the diet can overexpose the cells to insulin.

“This constant spike in blood glucose over time leads to the cells not becoming able to properly respond, and that’s the beginning of insulin resistance,” Ms. McKeown said.

Once insulin resistance starts, blood sugar levels rise to levels that are damaging to every major system in the body.

Pre-diabetes is an important landmark on the way to type 2 diabetes, Ms. McKeown said. It means a person has elevated blood sugar, a sign of increasing insulin resistance, but has not entered full-blown type 2 diabetes.

Pre-diabetes is reversible if a person cuts back on sugar. Sugar-sweetened beverages are the leading source of added sugar in the American diet, the authors said in background notes.

These results show cutting back on sugary drinks is “a modifiable dietary factor that could have an impact on that progression from pre-diabetes to diabetes,” Dr. McKeown said.

For this study, Dr. McKeown and her colleagues analyzed 14 years of data on nearly 1,700 middle-aged adults. The information was obtained from the Framingham Heart Study, a federally funded program that has monitored multiple generations for lifestyle and clinical characteristics that contribute to heart disease.

Participants did not have diabetes or pre-diabetes when they entered the study. They self-reported their consumption of sugar-sweetened beverages and diet sodas.

The research team found those who drank the highest amounts of sugar-sweetened beverages, that being six 12-oz servings a week, on average had a 46% higher risk of pre-diabetes, if researchers didn’t weigh other factors.

The American Beverage Association counters that sugar in beverages is not the sole risk factor for pre-diabetes.

“Credible health organizations such as the Mayo Clinic note that the risk factors for pre-diabetes include factors such as weight, inactivity, race and family history,” the industry group said in a statement.

Authors of the new study noted that pre-diabetes risk did decline when they included factors such as other dietary sources of sugar and how much body fat a person had. But it didn’t fall much. The increased risk associated with sugary drinks still amounted to about 27%.

Because the study was observational, it does not establish a direct cause-and-effect link between sugary drinks and pre-diabetes, Dr. McKeown said.

But the association between the 2 makes sense, said Dr. Deena Adimoolam, an assistant professor of medicine, diabetes, endocrinology and bone disease with the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai in New York City.

A 20-oz of bottle of regular soda may contain up to 18 teaspoons of sugar. Be aware of what you are drinking every day, and do not forget that drinks have calories, too.

Previous studies have linked diet sodas to an added risk of type 2 diabetes, but Dr. McKeown said the new findings show that diet drinks could provide a bridge to healthier habits for people with pre-diabetes.

“Incorporating diet soda while they are weaning themselves off the habit wouldn’t have any long-term negative health effects,” she said. “But eventually the majority of a person’s fluids should come from water.”

Paul Ebeling

Paul A. Ebeling, polymath, excels in diverse fields of knowledge. Pattern Recognition Analyst in Equities, Commodities and Foreign Exchange and author of “The Red Roadmaster’s Technical Report” on the US Major Market Indices™, a highly regarded, weekly financial market letter, he is also a philosopher, issuing insights on a wide range of subjects to a following of over 250,000 cohorts. An international audience of opinion makers, business leaders, and global organizations recognizes Ebeling as an expert.

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2 Responses to "One Can or Bottle of Soda Daily Heightens the Risk for Diabetes"

Charles Barksdale November 12, 2016 at 3:24 am

Big risk.. In July of 2016. it was discovered that I got type 2 diabetes, By the end of the July month. I was given a prescription for the Metformin, I stated with the ADA diet and followed it completely for several weeks but was unable to get my blood sugar below 140, Without results to how for my hard work. I really panicked and called my doctor. His response?? Deal with it yourself, I started to feel that something wasn’t right and do my own research, Then I found Lisa’s great blog (google ” HOW NOW I FREED MYSELF FROM THE DIABETES ” ) .. I read it from cover to cover and I started with the diet and by the next morning. my blood sugar was 100, Since then. I get a fasting reading between the mid 70s and 80s, My doctor was very surprised at the results that. the next week. he took me off the Metformin drug, I lost 30 pounds in my first month and lost more than 6 inches off my waist and I’m able to work out twice a day while still having lots of energy. The truth is that we can get off the drugs and help myself by trying natural methods..

One of sugar’s major drawbacks is that it raises the insulin level, which inhibits the release of growth hormones, which in turn depresses the immune system. I’m eating diabetes curing diet to improve my health and reverse diabetes. So far I’m satisfied with the results. I actually read an article about diabetes curing diet and it seemed like the person had great success so I gave it a try.I couldn’t have been more excited about the results, as I am now 50 pounds lighter than when I first started using it.

The article was very helpful to me — if you want to check it out yourself you can read it here: